


Born of Earth

by 50_points_for_ravenclaw



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Boys being dumb and insecure, Canon-Typical Violence, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Sheith Reverse Big Bang 2018, canon divergence after season 2, idk what else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 16:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15416793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/50_points_for_ravenclaw/pseuds/50_points_for_ravenclaw
Summary: Ever since Zarkon's defeat and the discovery of Keith's true heritage, Keith has had too much time to wonder about where he fits in and contemplate his feelings for Shiro. The team doesn't see him any differently but there are things about the Red paladin that they don't know and that Keith's too scared to divulge. But a situation arises that forces his hand, and Keith has to decide whether or not to trust his newfound family -- and the man he's starting to realize he's in love with -- with the biggest secret of all.





	Born of Earth

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired by [Blanc's](https://flimmerpen.tumblr.com/) [beautiful artwork](https://flimmerpen.tumblr.com/post/176237987297/sheithreversebang-so-hi-this-is-one-of-my-srb) for the [Sheith Reverse Bang](https://sheithreversebang.tumblr.com/)! I had so much fun working on this and working with Blanc. She's an incredible artist with amazing ideas so you should definitely all follow those links there and check out her stuff! This was also my first time writing for Voltron and for Sheith so I hope y'all enjoy!

“Great work out there today, paladins!”

These are words they’ve heard many times before, words spoken after every successful mission. Allura’s ovation has long outgrown praise and turned to routine and yet the sentiment behind the words and the feelings they evoke remain true. Keith let’s a small smile make its way forth, sending her a tired salute as they all fall limp amongst the couches in the lounge.

Today had been an exhausting one, long hours of strenuous battle that looked to be fruitless. But in the end they prevailed. It feels as if this experience, of victory and overwhelming relief, is beginning to become more common. Keith is still unsure how to feel about it all. He does know that the calm of his stomach and looseness of his shoulders that comes after every battle won is something he would like to keep feeling, that the grins on his friends’ faces as they exit their lions to celebrate in each other’s arms is a sight he wants to keep seeing, that the jovial laugh Shiro lets free on a whim as he removes his helmet is a sound he wants to hear for the rest of his life. 

He’s not sure how he fits into it all yet, but he thinks he does somehow. 

His friends joke with him as they cool down from the adrenalin. They share familiar glances and anecdotes, hands flying with their last vestiges of strength to point and emphasize stories they’d all been present to bear witness to. Keith laughs along with them, feeling more at home than he ever had on Earth.

Lance sprawls himself across Hunk and Pidge’s laps in that obnoxious way of his that only he manages to make charming. They let him get away with it as they too are weighed down with tired bones too heavy to move in protest. Hunk runs idle fingers through Lance’s too-long hair, twirling the strands after every other swipe. Pidge complains half-heartedly at the smell of Lance’s feet.

Keith watches them, feels a sort of comfort at their easy intimacy with each other. The only person he’s ever been like that with is Shiro, and then only just. He wishes he could join in with the trio even while knowing he’s able to any time he chooses. Then Shiro lays an arm over his shoulders without even sparing the action a glance, and his mind quiets once more.

He listens as the others share stories of the Garrison, as Allura and Coran question every point with confused bewilderment, as Pidge and Lance and Hunk tease one another with happenstances only they can find funny having experienced them first hand. 

“Remember when you made that chocolate mousse for my birthday? I swear I’ve never had anything so delicious. Don’t tell my mom.”

“Remember when Iverson yelled at Lance for falling asleep in class and made him fall out of his chair from a dead sleep?”

“Remember that day it rained and everyone just went outside in the middle of class? Dos Santos almost murdered us.”

Keith can’t remember having stories like this from the Garrison. He hadn’t been surrounded by friends. He hadn’t let himself relax and enjoy himself in those moments of freedom. He’d been too focused, too stern with himself. Sometimes he regrets that, but the thoughts are always fleeting because, after all, maybe he wouldn’t have met Shiro otherwise.

“This Garrison sounds awfully interesting,” Allura says after the trio have faded into quiet contentment. “It is a wonder you all learned to fly as well as you do.”

Shiro chuckles, and Keith feels the vibration against his side. “It wasn’t all fun and games. The teachers and curriculum were actually quite strict. These three are just troublemakers.”

He sends them a fond look even as Lance goes to argue. Pidge shrugs off the accusation, having no room to refute it as she’d only been there to cause trouble in the first place. Hunk pinches Lance’s arm after a moment of breathless ranting. Lance quiets after that, wiggling his head until he finds a comfortable position in Hunk’s lap.

“And you never caused any trouble at the Garrison?” Keith says dryly, turning to Shiro.

Lance jolts. “Tell me everything,” he says seriously.

The others seem to share his intent, even Allura and Coran, as they all lean just the slightest bit forward in anticipation. A light blush is already beginning to spread from Shiro’s neck up his jaw and into his cheeks. 

“We used to sneak out all the time after curfew to ride his hoverbike around the desert,” Keith says.

“It wasn’t all the time,” Shiro fights back.

“We flew in the simulators after hours, too.”

“Only a couple times.”

“He had a stash of candy under his bed.”

“That was just smart.”

As Keith continues, the others’ faces light up with delight while Shiro’s slowly turns darker and darker. It had always been easy to make him blush, even the lightest of pinks glowing bright against his pale skin. This fact is something Keith has taken advantage of time and time again.

“Of course this was all while I was there. Who knows what he was doing before I joined,” Keith says with a teasing lilt, and Shiro sends him an exasperated glance.

“I was not that bad.”

Keith shrugs with an air of disbelief and then laughs when Shiro shoves him. Lance has long dissolved into delirious hiccuping giggles while Pidge and Hunk try not very hard to hide their own amusement. Even Allura finds entertainment in Keith’s stories. He feels a warmth spread from his chest at being able to include himself.

“How did you guys meet anyway?” Pidge asks after a moment of calm. “It’s not like you were in the same classes.”

“Yeah, you’ve never told us,” Lance says as if just now realizing. 

“Shiro was my mentor,” Keith answers easily.

For some reason, this seems to embarrass Shiro the most, face burning bright red as he faces his lap.

“Wait, what?” Hunk looks between them. “What do you mean?”

“Iverson had him assigned as my mentor.”

“That’s so unfair!” Lance says loudly. “How come you got to have Shiro as your mentor?”

Shiro fidgets and clears his throat quietly. Keith can sense when he’s growing uncomfortable and is starting to regret bringing this all up in the first place. Shiro has always been overly modest.

“Probably because they both had the best scores ever recorded on the simulators in Garrison history,” Pidge says casually with a roll of her eyes. “Keith was their next prodigee.”

“Until he got kicked out,” Hunk supplies. He winces and darts a quick glance in Keith’s direction. “Sorry.”

“I’m curious to know how you two met,” Allura says. “Did you know one another before Shiro became your mentor?”

“I knew of him, but everyone did. I tended to...keep to myself.”

Lance snorts but quiets with the slap Pidge aims at his leg. 

“What was it like?” she asks. 

“I can’t imagine Keith was very fun to hang out with,” Lance mutters as he sinks further into Hunk’s lap to sulk. Keith ignores the comment and pauses to contemplate his reply.

Shiro decides to answer instead.

“Keith was...is my best friend.”

Keith feels his chest contract and swallows thickly, suddenly too aware of Shiro’s fingers resting gently against his shoulder, the touch just barely there through his t-shirt. He wants to pull away to give himself space to breathe but refrains, unwilling to face the questions that would follow. 

He knows he’s Shiro’s best friend, just as Shiro is his, and yet every time Shiro says it, he reacts the same. He is yet to be able to tell whether or not this feeling is good or bad, whether he’s feeling happiness or longing or maybe a mixture of both or neither at all. 

“We actually did meet once before Iverson put us together,” Shiro says after a thoughtful moment.

Keith frowns and then breathes a laugh, relaxing back against Shiro’s arm to feel its warmth across the line of his shoulders, soft shirt brushing the skin of his neck. This memory is a favorite of his, and he loves to hear Shiro tell it.

=================================

_ The Garrison felt more familiar than Keith had imagined. The rigidity of its teachers, its customs, its rules were something he’d long since become used to, and encountering it here was more of a comfort than he would admit. That didn’t mean he was happy with it. _

_ The curfew was a rule he found particularly frustrating. He’d been trying for three weeks now to get out on the base and had been caught twice and been waylaid by his roommate every other time. He knew he was bound to be under the watchful eye of the Garrison higher ups now that he’d proven himself unruly, but he also had a mission to complete and lots of practice with being stealthy. _

_ Tonight was actually looking to be his first successful attempt. He’d been stalking around the halls going on ten minutes and had yet to run into another soul. Maybe it was just luck, but Keith liked to think that he was learning.  _

_ At night, the Garrison dimmed its lights to something like of dusk, muted yellows setting dull gray walls aglow in a strangely ethereal way. It was easy to hide amongst the shadows and even easier to avoid detection as he knew for a fact that whoever was watching the cameras was either asleep in their chair or stuffing their face with a late-night snack. That’s what all security guards on all bases did during night watch. _

_ Still, he remained careful, moving silently through the halls. He hadn’t been totally sure where to start when he’d arrived at the Garrison, but he figured Iverson’s office would be a good bet. Iverson seemed to be one of the head honchos around here and was bound to have something interesting on his computer. _

_ Keith was passing the simulators room when he heard his first noise of the night. He stopped dead for a second, heart pounding wildly with a brief stroke of fear at being caught before he realized just where the noise had come from. Somebody in a simulator this late at night wasn’t bound to tattle on him if they were also ignoring curfew.  _

_ Sending a quick glance down the hall in the direction of Iverson’s office, Keith cursed his curiosity as he snuck into the large room that housed the two full-size simulators the Garrison boasted. He knew they were there and had seen them on the initial orientation tour of the base, but his classes had yet to call for any practical application, something he resented greatly. Stepping into the room was certainly enough to give him pause.  _

_ Keith took note of the stairs on either side of him just inside the door that lead up to two platforms overlooking the simulators. On ground level, where he stood, there was an archway that lead to the tall room two stories high and circular in shape with each simulator sitting on either side, meer feet separating them. They were closed off rooms of their own with large doors leading inside and screens plastered outside for students and teachers alike to watch simulations in real time.  _

_ He knew the one on the left was a more simplistic machine, with less sensitivity and easier simulations, something for beginners to practice on which would cost less to fix if they were to do something stupid enough to break it. The sounds he’d heard were coming from the right, the Garrison’s pride and joy. It was the newest model, perhaps the most advanced flight simulator in the world, but certainly in the nation. Keith had been told during his orientation that this would be the first year it was used in a class setting. He wouldn’t be using it for at least three more years, as it was designated for higher level students, so that fact didn’t much matter to him. _

_ For a moment, he wished to find a younger student, maybe even one from his class, inside the simulator just so he could see Iverson’s face when he found out. But then he imagined what it would be like to see an actual pilot from the Garrison fly one of these. He’d seen pilots in action before, ones with much better technology and much more freedom of movement, but the Garrison and its pilot regulations and so incredibly human students were completely new to him.  _

_ He wasn’t prepared for who he did find.  _

_ Accessing one of the TVs outside the simulator, Keith was able to get a look inside and found none other than Takashi Shirogane, ace pilot, golden student, and most sought after cadet in the entire Garrison. He watched as Shiro flew the simulator with his entire being, swerving and swaying with each bob and weave on the display. Keith wasn’t sure what the objective of this particular simulation was, but he assumed the asteroid belt that Shiro was attempting to navigate was part of it. _

_ He was a little surprised to find the prodigy of galactic flight sneaking around in a simulator well after curfew, but then he thought that it actually made sense for it to be Shiro. From what he’d heard so far, Shiro was one of the most dedicated pilots to come through the Garrison. He had the natural talent to fly of course, but it had still taken him weeks and months and years of hard work to get where he was now. Keith could appreciate that. He was happy to get a chance to see the man in action. _

_ Leaning against the wall behind him, Keith kept watch as Shiro flew. There were places he should be rather than here, things he should be doing rather than staring at this screen, but his fascination was too much to ignore. Flying had always been his biggest weakness. He didn’t want to miss an opportunity to see a great pilot. _

_ Shiro had yet to finish the simulation when Keith heard footsteps coming down the hallway. In a moment of panic, he turned off the television and scrambled into the simulator. Almost immediately Shiro’s trajectory flew wildly off course and nearly into an asteroid he’d been trying to avoid.  _

_ “What the--” _

_ “Turn it off!” Keith whispered harshly, moving to do just that. “Someone’s coming.” _

_ Shiro’s eyes burned wide before he joined Keith in switching the simulator off, the low hum of machinery fading slowly to silence. They stood as still as possible in the simulator, listening to the faint sound of boots against tile until it faded away all together. Keith released a long sigh. _

_ “Thanks for that,” Shiro said on an exhale. _

_ Keith nodded, taking a large breath for himself. Now that they were alone, he found himself unsure what to do with his arms, switching from holding them stiff at his sides and crossing them over his chest over and over. He'd settled with crossing them when Shiro cleared his throat. _

_ “What are you doing here?” he asked with enough hesitance to make it feel stilted and awkward. _

_ “What are  _ you _ doing here?” Keith's question came out steadier and far colder. _

_ Shiro rubbed the back of his head with a bashful grin, scratching at the short hairs there until he admitted defeat with dropped shoulders. _

_ “Touche,” he said. “I won't tell if you won't.” _

_ Keith assumed that was some type of common saying from Shiro’s now playful gaze and nodded again for lack of any other response. Shiro deflated a little.  _

_ It was captivating to watch the way his expressions moved through each emotion, muscles twitching into place in rapid succession. Keith had seen it before of course, with numerous people, and yet he’d never witnessed something quite so obvious as Shiro. He didn’t hold back at all. It was something Keith was wholly unfamiliar with but found utterly fascinating.  _

_ “We should probably get out of here before we actually get caught,” Shiro said. He’d gone back to rubbing at the back of his head, and Keith couldn’t keep himself from finding it endearing. He nodded a third time. _

_ They snuck out of the simulator after a quick peek and listening for more footsteps, closing it up behind them. Keith started to turn around, realizing that he wouldn’t be able to get anything done tonight and deciding to head back to his room. He stopped when he felt a hand snag his arm, firm but gentle. _

_ “Hey, what’s your name?” Shiro asked, not letting his touch linger too long. _

_ “Keith.” _

_ He breathed easier at finally having his voice back. _

_ Something flickered in Shiro’s eyes, an expression Keith was unable to identify this time, before he smiled.  _

_ “Nice to meet you, Keith. Thanks for saving my ass back there. I’m Shiro.” _

_ He didn’t offer a hand to shake, only a smile. Keith returned it with a small, hesitant one of his own as they went their separate ways. _

=================================

Everyone is still getting used to having Galra on the castle ship on a regular basis. Allura had been surprisingly lenient once she accepted the Blade of Marmora as allies. Kolivan and his fellow blades have been making more and more appearances as a result. They never come for social calls, only showing when they have prepared another plan or strategy for the war and a way that Voltron can help. Now that things are in chaos among the empire with the defeat of Zarkon, the Blade and the paladins see each much more frequently.

“With Lotor’s unexpected appearance, our plans will need to be changed in order to accommodate an attack against him as well as the Empire.”

Kolivan and Allura lead all the battle strategy meetings now, though it is usually Kolivan who starts them off. Allura had conceded to the fact that he simply has more battle knowledge than she and usually hands the reins over to him for most of the planning. 

“How exactly will he be fitting into the Empire?” Shiro asks from where he stands on the bridge, arms crossed in his usual thinking stance.

“It’s unclear at this time,” Kolivan says. “It appears that Haggar plans to have him take Zarkon’s place temporarily, most likely to avoid letting the Empire appear weak while Zarkon is down. It is safe to assume that he will not hold the title of Emperor for long.”

“Where has he even been all this time?” Pidge says. “I mean he’s supposed to be some sort of war general, right? Why haven’t we heard of him before.”

“Lotor is a half-breed. While he is still Zarkon’s son, his standing among the Empire is significantly lower than it would be if he were full-Galra.”

Keith tenses at this revelation. He can tell that the other paladins are actively trying not to turn toward him, stare at him as they’ve been doing since they found out he is half-Galra himself. The news of course was not a surprise for Keith, but his ties to the Blade were something else all together. They were the only reason he’d been so okay with sharing his heritage with everyone.

But even now, months later, he can sense the hesitance his teammates give him, the confusion and curiosity and maybe even some fear and anger. He doesn’t think he could ever tell them that he had known his whole life that he wasn’t completely human, that he hailed from a race of warmongering aliens they never could have dreamed of until now.

“Then we should divert all our focus to thwarting Lotor’s ascension to the throne while the Empire and Haggar are at their weakest,” Allura says, breaking the long silence.

“We will assist in any way we are able to without compromising our own missions,” Kolivan agrees.

Allura frowns at this but nods.

As soon as the group disperses, Keith hurries to Kolivan’s side where he is speaking to a Blade. He hovers close enough to grasp Kolivan’s attention and then follows him when Kolivan begins to walk off the bridge. Keith ignores the hole Shiro’s stare is bearing into his back as he goes.

“What is it, Keith?”

“I want to go on a mission with the Blade,” Keith says hurriedly, as if worried if he doesn’t say it quick enough, Kolivan will refuse him before he can finish.

Kolivan stops walking, staring down at Keith. His significant height and severe face would be intimidating if Keith hadn’t grown up standing beneath ones just like it.

“Why would I allow that?” he says slowly.

“Because I have a member blade,” Keith says forcefully. “My mother -- she’s connected to you somehow, and I want to know how she is.”

“You are not trained in the Blade ways.”

“I can fight.”

“The Blade is not simply about fighting ability. We perform difficult covert missions. We do not attack entire fleets with a giant flashy robot. Our organization requires intelligence, stealth, obedience. I am not sure you have these things.”

Keith grinds his teeth at the slight, taking a deep breath to calm himself best he can. His fiery temper has no place in the Blade, and displaying it here would only prove Kolivan right.

“Then train me. I can be all of those things and more. I know I can be an asset to the Blade,” he says as evenly as possible.

Kolivan quirks a massive brow bone, a startlingly human expression that has Keith momentarily thrown. “This is not simply about your mother.”

The knowing lilt to his voice has Keith feeling queasy for reasons he can’t understand. He thinks for a moment that it may be fear but quickly tosses that thought aside because Kolivan has given no reason to be feared. 

“I want to take down the Empire, too,” Keith says. It sounds weak even to his ears.

“Tomorrow. Be ready to leave,” Kolivan says even so. “I will train you personally.”

“How long?”

“Will the duration be a problem?”

“What about Vol--” Keith stutters to a stop. His training has already begun, and it seems Kolivan has started with perhaps the most difficult part. “No. It won’t be a problem.”

Kolivan doesn’t look as if he believes Keith, but he turns away without another word, a clear dismissal. Keith stays where Kolivan leaves him, in a nondescript hallway somewhere in the castle, staring unseeingly at his boots against the white floor.

“Are you planning to become a Blade, then?”

Keith nearly jumps but manages to contain the reaction to an abrupt swivel on his heel. Shiro is leaning against the wall, arms crossed just as they were earlier, and his expression is carefully blank. It’s something Keith has only seen him do a few times in their friendship, and it has always lead to all-encompassing guilt. Shiro’s disappointment can do that to a person.

“No,” Keith says firmly. “I just -- I need to know more, Shiro. Maybe they can tell me more about my family, where I come from, who I am.”

“You already know who you are,” Shiro says. This time, as he pushes off the wall and steps closer, his voice is softer, more comforting. Keith wants to fall into it almost bad enough to forget everything else. Shiro has that effect on people, too. “You’re Keith Kogane. You have family right here. You’re one of the best pilots in the universe.”

“One of?” Keith jokes half-heartedly. It still gets him a smile from Shiro as he comes to a stop in front of Keith, close enough to feel each other’s warmth.

“You’re my best friend.”

Keith tries to ignore the way his chest clenches, tries to pretend those words don’t hurt rather than comfort, now that he’s finally realized just what that clenched feeling in his chest has been all these years. He offers a small smile and accepts the hug Shiro gives him, trying to pretend that the feeling of Shiro’s arms around him and Shiro’s chest against his isn’t the best thing he’s ever gotten to experience. He tries to pretend that he’s not going to go with Kolivan tomorrow and betray the most important person in his life.

As he sinks into Shiro’s embrace and lets himself accept Shiro’s comfort, Keith knows he’s failed. 

=================================

_ Hiding things from people was a lot harder than Keith had originally thought. Whenever, wherever he went it seemed impossible for him to escape someone’s curious gaze. It didn’t help that he’d already made a name for himself here at the Garrison, but how was he to know that humans were so terrible at flying? The only person he’d met who could rival him yet was Shiro. _

_ Keith was beginning to hate the Garrison ways, though. He resented the roommate he was forced into housing with and scoffed at the groups the teachers pushed them into joining. Mostly, he was tired of humans. _

_ Todd Palmer was a nice enough human, nicer than some of the others he’d met since he’d come here, but at the moment, Keith wanted nothing more than to tape his mouth shut and throw him in a closet. _

_ “You know, I heard Iverson has never actually flown in space. Apparently he’s from the Air Force and has only flown fighter jets.”  _

_ Keith wasn’t sure where Todd got his information, but none of it ever seemed sound enough to be true. This hadn’t stopped Todd any time in the past and didn’t seem to be stopping him now. He’d walked into their shared dorm room already talking, nearly throwing Keith into cardiac arrest but luckily distracted enough to give Keith the time to hide what he’d been doing under the pillow on his bed.  _

_ “Man I wish we could fly in the simulators already, don’t you? I bet you’ll be the next Shiro.” _

_ Keith didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d already flown in the simulator as well as ships beyond Todd’s imagination and comprehension. He could at least agree that the feeling was like no other, and he was awaiting the day he could get back behind the controls of a ship with an unchecked freedom among the stars. _

_ Ultimately, Keith stayed silent, the tactic he usually used when dealing with Todd. Instead he tried to think of a way to slip out of the room with his equipment unnoticed. Sliding a hand discretely beneath his pillow, he ran his fingers over the metal of his quintessence detector and was just about to hastily stuff it in his jacket pocket when a knock sounded from the door. Todd paused long enough to walk over and open it. _

_ “Shiro!”  _

_ Shiro smiled politely as Todd proceeded to faun quite obviously over him, giving Keith side glances every few words. Eventually, Keith took pity and gave up on having any chance to search today. At least he could rely enough on Todd being oblivious and not too nosy to leave the detector in its place beneath his pillow. _

_ “I’m actually here to talk to Keith,” Shiro was saying when Keith stepped up behind Todd. _

_ “Oh yeah, dude. I get it.” _

_ Keith wasn’t so sure that Todd actually got it. _

_ “Did you guys, like, need the room or anything?”  _

_ Keith was definitely sure that Todd did not get it. _

_ “No, it’s fine,” Shiro answered smoothly, ignoring the implication of the words and Todd’s not-so-discreet glances. “We’re just going to go study in the library.” _

_ “Yep. See you later, Todd,” Keith said impatiently as he brushed past. He knew from past experience that if they didn’t escape soon enough, they would never escape at all, and he wasn’t much in the mood for that tonight. _

_ He dragged Shiro by the wrist down the hall, not bothering to respond to the words Todd called out after them. Shiro laughed as Keith practically sprinted away with him in tow.  _

_ “I can’t wait until I graduate and get my own room,” Keith muttered. _

_ They’d fallen into a casual walk, but he had yet to let go of Shiro’s wrist. A couple students stared as they walked by, eyes glued to Shiro’s face in simple-minded awe, the kind ony born from idolizing a complete stranger without knowing a single real thing about them. Keith hated to admit that he had also looked at Shiro like that once, that is until he realized just how much of a dork Takashi Shirogane really was. _

_ “We’re not actually studying right? I didn’t bring my books or anything.” _

_ Shiro chuckled and shook his head softly. “You think Todd will notice?” _

_ Keith groaned loudly. He was starting to get really tired of fielding questions about the nature of his relationship with Shiro. He thought maybe this was what it was like to have a human parent. _

_ “I actually have a surprise for you.” Shiro said with an unusual lack of confidence.  _

_ And that was something Keith hadn’t been expecting about Shiro, just how shy and nervous and unsure of himself he could be, how normal he actually was compared to the far-fetched stories and hyperbolic gossip running rampant through the Garrison halls. Keith thought maybe some would be disappointed about this part of Shiro, but he hadn’t felt anything but endeared the first time Shiro blushed in front of him. _

_ It was fairly obvious it all stemmed from Shiro’s kindness and maybe even his tendency to be a people pleaser, something he’d gotten from being raised under strict parents and a much less strict grandfather. Keith found it fascinating the ways Shiro’s personality was shaped through the opposing sides of his family and couldn’t help but wonder how  _ he _ could have turned out different if he’d had that same dynamic to feed off of as a child. Instead, he only knew the harshness of war and obedience, the absence of fun, of hope, of love … _

_ “Keith?”  _

_ Shiro’s eyes were warm and concerned when he met them, something that managed to awaken something inside him he couldn’t name. He thought maybe it could be fondness but then he thought maybe he wasn’t even capable of feeling such. _

_ “Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well, I can take you back to your room,” Shiro said gently, always so gentle. _

_ “No, no. I’m okay. I was just lost in thought. I want to see what my surprise is.” He gave his companion a smile and a squeeze to the wrist he still held. “Show me.” _

_ Shiro lead him through the Garrison hallways without another question. It only took a couple turns for Keith to notice where they were going, but he stayed silent as his excitement grew, feeling ready to burst once they reached the large doors leading into one of the hangers. _

_ He’d only been here a handful of times, for tours of the Garrison and the occasional class, but his year wasn’t allowed to just wander the hangars without permission. Keith supposed being with Shiro was permission enough. _

_ They bypassed the large aircraft, heading to a corner of the hanger that looked similar to the mechanic’s shop Keith had worked at for a short period before being accepted into the Garrison. There sat a hoverbike, an older model Keith barely even recognized with chipped red paint and no engine. _

_ “I found this at the junkyard in town. I’ve been looking for a project, something to do when I feel anxious, and then I found this, and I realized something even better. We could work on it together,” Shiro said. “I know you love working with your hands. You always talk about how much you enjoyed working at Pablo’s shop, and once we finish rebuilding it, we can take it out on rec weekends, just drive across the desert and pretend we’re exploring a distant moon.” _

_ Keith’s stomach was flipping over and in on itself, a feeling he wasn’t very familiar with and a lot concerned about until it settled, and all he knew was contentment. He wasn’t sure quite how to hold himself, how to show Shiro how much this meant to him and just how thrilled he was to get started. So he settled with a hug that was much more than a hug, an embrace with the full strength of his arms and his laughter shaking through his core, preventing the words he wanted so much to say but was unsure how to. Shiro seemed to get it though, because he returned the gesture in full force. _

_ “Thanks,” Keith finally whispered and revelled in the way Shiro’s hold on him became that much tighter.  _

_ “Let’s get started,” Shiro said with a grin. _

=================================

It’s been a couple weeks now since Keith had officially started training with the Blade of Marmora. The other paladins had much the same reaction as Shiro when he told them what he planned to do but ultimately decided to let it go once they realized he wasn’t budging. Keith still misses them, though, now that his time is constantly being pulled away from the castle. He makes sure to be there for raids and paladin training, but he finds himself torn and exhausted more times than not as he catapults back and forth between war efforts, wishing all the while that it could be easier to just be part of both. He supposes that’s an accurate way of describing how he feels about himself, too.

Even though it’s fairly obvious Kolivan is testing his loyalties, he still understands the importance of Voltron and Keith’s role in it and tries to schedule most of Keith’s training around the castle and nearby. It’s the only reason why Allura hasn’t said anything to Keith yet about his extracurriculars and has simply resigned herself to long disapproving stares every time she sees him in the Blade suit. It feels a little like when she found out about his Galra half, but he tries not to think too much of that.

It’s hard to think much of anything anyways with how tired Keith is. He has double the training now, triple if he takes into account how strenuous Blade training can be. Pretending he isn’t feeling tired only makes him more tired, but Keith isn’t willing to show Kolivan or the other paladins (or Shiro) that. Maybe it’s pride. Maybe it’s determination. Maybe he’s just stubborn and doesn’t want to be proven wrong. He’s big enough to admit it’s most likely the last one but only to himself.

“You’re improving,” Kolivan tells him one day and Keith nearly collapses in relief.

“Thank you.”

“Continue to do so.”

Keith grimaces a little at that as Kolivan walks away and tries to get his heavy breathing under control. A few other blades are scattered about the room, doing their own training exercises while somehow simultaneously shooting Keith furtive glances every few seconds. Another thing he has yet to get used to.

“That is high praise.”

Keith stands up straight and then looks up even higher to meet Belov’s gaze. She’s another half-Galra like him, the other half some other alien species Keith has yet to encounter and frankly wouldn’t want to after seeing Belov’s brute strength in a fight and the rough spiky scales that cover most of her skin. Despite her less than inviting appearance, she’s always been more approachable than the other Blades, maybe even kind. 

“I’ll take what I can get I guess,” Keith says back, with a shrug. 

He thinks her scowl may twitch into a smile but her heavy lip and abrupt jaw make it hard to tell. 

“It is the only way to handle Kolivan.”

She gestures for him to follow as she steps away. They fall into a rather casual walk for Belov but a much more brisk stride for Keith’s shorter stature. 

“Try to ignore the other Blades. They always act up when a new member is introduced into the fold, and you made quite the entrance,” she says to him with amusement hidden beneath the natural softness of her voice.

Keith thinks of the Blades’ rather subtle glances and lack of outward behavior and laments that that is considered acting up. He tries to forget about trying to take on Zarkon by himself and hopes Belov and Kolivan do too. 

“How are you adjusting?” she asks.

Keith ponders what direction to go, unsure how his answer can work against him and then decides to listen to Shiro’s voice in his head telling him to trust people a little easier and gives her the truth.

“It’s hard,” he admits without looking her way. “Harder than I thought it would be. And I never know how Kolivan feels about anything. Today was the first time he’s given me any kind of feedback.”

“He likes to let us learn on our own. He only gives us advice or criticism when he thinks we really need it,” Belov says in agreement. “Do not take it to heart. He sees something in you, or else you would not be here.”

Keith nods, biting his bottom lip to stop himself from blurting all his insecurities. Shiro only said to trust a  _ little _ easier after all, and he thinks baby steps are better than no steps at all.

“You know,” he starts after a moment’s pause, “I’ve been meaning to ask someone. I’m still new to this whole half-Galra thing.” He takes a second to feel guilty of lying and then pulls himself together. “I have a blade from my mother so I can’t help but wonder if...if maybe you knew her?”

“Who is to say she is gone?” Belov counters without answer.

“Well, she never came back for me,” Keith mutters. “It’s easier to assume that she is.”

Belov gives him a long glance, one he would be nervous about if he couldn’t clearly see the understanding and pity in her eyes. It’s amazing to him how expressive her eyes can be when her other features never seem to stray far from their designated places. 

“I only joined the Blades a few years ago,” she says. “It was after you were born. If your mother was ever a member, I do not know who she is.”

“Oh,” Keith sighs. He frowns and then quickly tries to hide it when he notices Belov’s gaze has not changed. “So you’ve only been around for a few years? That means you’re still pretty new in Galra years. The Blades have been around for centuries.”

“I suppose.” 

“Do you ever feel like an intruder?”

“Do you?”

Keith bites his lip and takes a breath. “Sometimes. I’m not full Galra -- I don’t even look Galra. The way you guys work and how seamless and well trained you all are, I’m not sure where I fit in.”

He can feel himself curling in, trying to hide from the words he just spoke and their implications and the judgement Belov is undoubtedly about to show him. 

“You are not the only one who feels that way, and your fears are unfounded, young one,” she says calmly.

Keith twitches at the nickname but lets himself enjoy the certain level of comradery that comes with it. Then he thinks over her words.

It’s true that he isn’t the only half-breed among the Blades. In fact, probably two thirds of their ranks are only half-Galra. He supposes that half-Galra species have even more reason to hate the Empire as it’s well known that they haven’t fared well under Zarkon’s rule. He’s felt different from them though because they still look so alien, but if he thinks about it, he must look alien to them, too.

“You will find your place among us just as you have with your Paladins,” Belov says. “You only need to continue your training and everything will happen as it should.”

He nods for lack of an answer, and Belov ends the conversation there with a wave of farewell as Keith boards a transport ship headed back to the castle. He ruminates over her words during the journey back and finds himself mostly soothed of his doubts by the time they reach the Castleship. Leading the other Galra on board to Allura takes but a few moments, and then he leaves them to their correspondence. 

Shiro finds him in his room after he’s already showered and dressed in his usual casual pants and t-shirt. His Blade suit lays over the back of a chair, and Shiro glances at it as he comes into the room before settling his gaze on Keith.

“How was training?” he asks, sitting next to Keith on the bed.

“Okay. Kolivan said I’m improving,” Keith says. He fiddles with the hem of his shirt. 

Conversations with Shiro have been tense lately, especially when regarding his Blade training. He tries not to mention it too much, but Shiro has yet to get the memo. He asks every time Keith returns. Keith thinks sometimes Shiro sounds too bitter and wonders if he’s started asking out of some sort of inner resentment rather than his usual polite curiosity.

“That’s good.”

They sit in silence for a long few moments. Keith is just starting to wish that things felt more natural again when Shiro speaks again.

“I’m worried about you.”

“What?” Keith says, whipping his head up to stare at Shiro with confusion. “Why?”

“I’m worried you’re going to get too dragged into this Galra, Blade of Marmora stuff,” Shiro admits. His eyebrows are downturned in his typical concerned frown. It’s an expression Keith has long grown familiar with but one he still has yet to feel comfortable having directed toward himself.

“What do you mean?”

“I just don’t want you to get completely absorbed in your training with Kolivan and forget about Voltron.”

Keith feels himself shutting down and doesn’t make any attempt to stop it. He knows it’s a bad habit of his, but right now, he wants nothing more than to not be having this conversation with Shiro.

“That’s what you think of me?” he says quietly.

“I just mean that you can’t forget that you’re human,” Shiro says quickly.

“Yeah. And I’m also Galra,” Keith states, anger clear in his tone. 

Shiro sighs, and Keith’s anger only escalates.

“I know my duty, for both the Blade and Voltron,” Keith says. “It’s not my fault that none of you want to admit that I’m not  _ just _ human.”

“Keith, that’s not--”

“It is true, Shiro.” Keith’s fists have clenched in his lap now, face twisting into a deep frown and jaw tight around his words. “Ever since you guys found out about me being half-Galra, you’ve treated me differently. I know you’re trying to understand, but you have to let me understand myself.”

Shiro is quiet, the kind of quiet that actually feels loud because of how heavy it is. Keith doesn’t want this to become a fight, but he also needs Shiro to understand how torn he feels, how he feels as if he’s being pulled in two different directions, and how everyone seems to expect him to choose one side of himself and ignore the other. If anyone were to understand him, it would be Shiro, and that’s all Keith needs. He can handle the rest if he has his best friend on his side.

“I can’t stop worrying about you,” Shiro murmurs softly. “I’m just not sure if I trust Kolivan 100% yet, and -- and that’s on me and my hang-ups. Not you. Just please be careful.”

Keith deflates at that and nods. “I will. I don’t blame you Shiro. I’m just frustrated.”

“I get that. How do you think I felt when I came to America and could barely even talk to my classmates?” Shiro says blithely, and they share a commiserating smile. Shiro bumps his shoulder with Keith’s. “I’m not sure how this is all going to turn out, but I want you to be able to explore your whole self. I trust you.”

Keith ignores the sour taste suddenly invading his tongue and nods again with a fake smile plastered to his lips.

=================================

_ He didn’t much understand the point of holidays, but Keith took advantage of them nonetheless. Holiday weekends were one of the only times he was able to really get out of the Garrison and explore the terrain nearby. Now that he and Shiro had fixed up the old hoverbike, it was a lot easier to get out farther than before where he could get some actual readings. The Garrison files had said there were strange energy readings near the outcroppings a few miles away from base, and Keith would much rather drive the distance than walk. _

_ The Fourth of July weekend proved to be especially easy to escape. Most everyone on base had either gone to visit family or into the nearest town to celebrate the holiday, a day Keith couldn’t care less about. The hallways were nearly empty though, and he could at least be thankful for that. _

_ Even Todd had gone home, so Keith took his time that Saturday morning getting ready in their small dorm room. He packed a bag for the day, including all the tech he would need, and slipped on the red jacket he’d bought while out with Shiro a few weeks back. Shiro had teased him for buying a jacket that looked fit for a child, but Keith liked it anyways. It reminded him of a place not of Earth, the first thing to do so since he’d gotten here. _

_ He’d just made it to the wing of the Garrison where the hanger was held when he was jerked back by something snagged on the strap of his duffle. Keith tensed for a fight only to immediately relax when he spun around to Shiro’s grin. _

_ “Where are you headed off to?” Shiro asked, voice bright and sunny enough to cause suspicion. _

_ “I was just gonna go for a ride around,” Keith said slowly. “Everyone’s out of town, and I thought it would be a good chance to do some exploring.” _

_ He raised a pointed brow Shiro’s way, and Shiro laughed. “I’m staying here this weekend,” he explained. “Japan doesn’t really care much about American Independence Day, so my parents told me not to come to Kyoto. There’s no point anyways since it’s only a two-day holiday.” _

_ Shiro shrugged, flashing his usual charming smile, and Keith already knew he wouldn’t be following through with his plans for the day. _

_ “You mind if I tag along?” Shiro asked, peering curiously at Keith’s bag. “I’ve been meaning to take the hoverbike for a longer test drive. It’ll be nice to really get out there.” _

_ Keith tried not to shift his duffle too obviously out of outsight. His shoulders slumped in defeat which Shiro took for the answer it was, telling Keith he needed to grab a few things and he would meet him in the hangar. The rest of the walk there was spent questioning why Shiro could so easily derail him. _

_ It was relatively early when they set out, sun hanging low in the sky but hot enough still to have sweat dripping down the backs of their necks. Shiro let Keith drive, opting to sit behind him with his arms loosely wrapped around Keith’s waist. The press of his arms made Keith shiver despite the heat. He ignored his reaction best he could, just like he’d been doing the past few months whenever Shiro touched him, and revved the engine -- the one they’d built together almost completely from scratch -- as fast as it could go across the flat expanse of the desert.  _

_ Since his research had been waylaid, Keith took the scenic route, weaving and swaying over the sand, kicking up clouds of the stuff behind them with sharp turns. Shiro stayed quiet, though his grip around Keith tightened. It only made Keith go harder, faster.  _

_ He was a great pilot, of that they both knew. He’d learned everything he knew about the hoverbike from Shiro, including how to drive it. Even so, his reckless and daring flying maneuvers had inevitably transferred over to his driving from the first time he took the bike out. Shiro had quickly learned there was no stopping it and simply given up on reprimanding him in favor of enjoying the ride. _

_ They’d been out almost an hour when Keith spotted the outcropping he’d originally been planning to visit, and he made a straight-shot toward it under the pretense of shade and rest. Maybe he could still investigate a little with Shiro here. _

_ His legs wobbled a bit when he got off the bike, and Shiro reached to steady him with a gentle touch to the elbow. Keith smiled gratefully at him. _

_ “Well, I’d say the engine is performing alright,” Shiro said sardonically, giving his companion a look of exasperated fondness. _

_ “You said you wanted to test it.”  _

_ Shiro laughed at Keith’s casual shrug, pushing him toward the outcropping by the shoulder. The shade was a cool relief after an hour in direct desert sunlight, and they both took the chance to take off their jackets and gulp down some water from their canteens.  _

_ “So what kind of exploring were you thinking?” Shiro asked, gaze roaming over the up and down leveling of rock and sand before them.  _

_ Keith frowned, glancing at his bag and then carefully reaching inside to pull something out. “I have this pure metal detector,” he said, doing his best not to show the lie on his face. “We could walk around and see if we find anything.” _

_ “I’ve never seen one that looks like that before.” Shiro stepped forward for a better look but made no move to take it. “Where’d you get it?” _

_ “I made it,” Keith blurted.  _

_ Thick eyebrows rose high on Shiro’s forehead before relaxing into a smile. “That’s really impressive, Keith. I didn’t know you could do that.” _

_ Keith felt his cheeks grow warm and then warmer still. For a moment, he thought he could be having a stroke, but when Shiro laughed softly and pointed out the red color invading his skin, he realized he was just blushing. It felt ridiculous considering the compliment wasn’t even valid, but Keith had never blushed before, and he quite liked the squirmy feeling in his stomach that came with it. Shiro’s tender looks didn’t hurt either. _

_ He simply shrugged it off and made for the cliff, beginning the climb without a look back. Scuffling followed close behind him, and Keith fell into the easy rhythm of ascending up the rock face. Luckily it wasn’t too steep and had many hidden footholds atop boulders and jut-outs of steady rock. In what seemed no time at all, he and Shiro had reached the top, once again standing beneath ceaseless sunlight almost too hot to bare.  _

_ They caught their breath as they looked around, noting clear blue sky and a hazy glow on the horizon. By now, it had reached noon and the sun was at its peak in the sky, casting light so bright that the sand of the land around them looked almost white. Keith took a moment to appreciate the view for what it was. _

_ “I never thought I would like the desert,” Shiro murmured, his own eyes caught gazing along the stretch of flat earth. “It’s really quite beautiful.” _

_ “Yeah. It is.” _

_ After a long moment, Shiro turned to him, gesturing to the device in his hand. “Well, what do you say we take a look around?” _

_ Keith swallowed down his nerves and nodded as he booted up the detector, thankful that it was a simple piece of machinery with no display. Shiro watched in interest as a pink light switched on to show that there was power. They made their descent then into the crater like structure of rock on the other side of the outcropping and into the mouth of a cave.  _

_ For a moment, Keith forgot Shiro was there, that they were meant to be casually exploring. He stalked around the area with an unnatural fervor before realizing how it may look to Shiro, even though his friend had yet to say a word.  _

_ “Have you found anything? I can’t read that thing,” Shiro asked with a chuckle.  _

_ They’d been walking around for what could have been ten minutes but was more than likely closer to thirty. Keith was surprised Shiro had held out this long. He was never really one to stay behind and observe.  _

_ Keith tried not to show his disappointment when he shook his head in answer. They were near the coordinates noted in the Garrison logs where unusual energy readings had been recorded, yet he’d gotten nothing on his reader. It wasn’t anything new as he hadn’t had much luck since he got here, but he’d been hoping to be able to report back with news for once, good or bad.  _

_ “Let’s take a break. We should eat,” Shiro said, patting his shoulder. _

_ So that’s what they did. Keith hadn’t thought to pack more than a protein bar, but luckily Shiro knew him well enough to have packed two full lunches along with some electrolyte boosting drinks. They enjoyed the shade in the cave without noticing it grow darker until Shiro pulled out a flashlight with a chagrined expression and pointed out that they should probably get back. Despite knowing it unsafe to climb around the cliffs in the dark, Keith still felt an urge to stay, to keep searching for something, anything, but eventually he agreed and followed Shiro back over the outcropping. _

_ This time Shiro drove by request, taking a much safer approach to the task than Keith, though Keith held onto him all the same. He didn’t notice Shiro was off course until they came across a small, dilapidated shack in the middle of nowhere and parked the hoverbike smoothly in front of it. Keith raised his brows at his friend as they stepped off. _

_ “I found it when I was doing a test drive one day. I thought we could just spend the night here,” Shiro explained. “The Garrison won’t notice we’re gone with everyone else gone, too.” _

_ The shack was just as shabby on the inside as it was out, but it had a certain charm Keith couldn’t put into words. There was old furniture still set up, though it had all obviously been cleaned recently, most likely by Shiro on one of his visits. Keith fell onto the couch in a heap.  _

_ “I’ve been sort of making it my own,” Shiro said as he put sandwiches into the surprisingly still working icebox. “I already checked with the city housing records and this place isn’t even listed in there. I think someone just built it one day without permits or anything. Who knows why they left.” _

_ Keith frowned at the thought. It was easy for him to relate to such an ephemeral lifestyle, but he couldn’t help but wonder just who this person had been.  _

_ “Some of their stuff is still here, but it’s covered in layers of dust. I don’t think they’ve been around for years. I put it all in a box in the closet.” Shiro gestured to the closet across from Keith’s perch. “It didn’t feel right throwing it away.” _

_ Curiosity getting the best of him, Keith went to the closet and knelt before the box inside. On top was a notebook with handwritten scribbles too illegible for him to read. Beneath that was a beat-up map, a yellow firefighter’s jacket, a black vest along with some other assorted clothes, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. He picked up the gloves, running his fingers over the worn leather. _

_ “I think it’d be okay if you wanted to keep them,” Shiro said softly. He hovered over Keith’s shoulder, gazing down at him with one of his indecipherable looks. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s coming back here. At least you’ll put them to better use.” _

_ Keith hummed in agreement, hesitating a moment before slipping them on. They fit snug to his hands, hugging his fingers just right. He smiled down at them, then shoved the box back into the closet, and closed the door. _

_ By the time they had blankets and pillows spread across the pullout couch, Keith felt ready to pass out. It had grown colder now that the sun was gone, as it was wont to do in the desert, and he’d managed to wrap himself tight enough to resemble a burrito with the thin fleece blanket Shiro had given him. _

_ “Keith.” _

_ He blinked away the sleep creeping into his heavy eyelids and turned to look at Shiro. Out here, light pollution was non-existent. It was Keith’s favorite part about the desert. With the milky light of the moon and stars shining through the small windows of the shack, Keith could clearly see Shiro’s twisted expression. He frowned and turned over to his side. _

_ “What is it?” _

_ “I’ve been trying to get up the nerve to say this all day, but I didn’t want to ruin anything,” Shiro whispered, quiet despite their absolute privacy. Something about the dark of night convinced people of the need for hushed voices, and Keith found himself falling for it, too. _

_ “Is something wrong?” _

_ “Not really,” Shiro hedged. “I’m just not sure how you’re going to feel.” Keith ignored the weird flip in his stomach. “I was invited to pilot the Kerberos mission.” _

_ Keith had never experienced heavy silence until the Garrison. He never realized how awkward and tense humans could be, how awkward and tense they made things to be. Sometimes he felt like he’d become nothing but heavy silences, nothing but blank and motionless in the face of social interaction. Until he’d met Shiro. Shiro had pried him away from these habits from the start. That’s why he couldn’t understand what was happening now.  _

_ He knew he loved Shiro. He knew he relied on Shiro, for far too much. He also knew he had a mission that didn’t include Shiro or this shack or their hoverbike. It was easy to forget these things when he was with Shiro, his companion and friend, perhaps the only true one he’d ever had. Silence never factored in because Shiro was the opposite, bright and welcoming and warm.  _

_ It was only when the ringing left Keith’s ears that he realized Shiro had plowed on. _

_ “-- for another year. There’s still more to work out and test runs and configurations. I’ll be busy, but I’ll spend all my extra time with you.” _

_ “You don’t have to do that,” Keith said quietly. _

_ “What do you mean?” _

_ “Shiro, I’m happy for you.” He met Shiro’s concerned gaze and smiled. “You deserve this. You’ve earned it. Don’t worry about trying to make me feel better.” _

_ Shiro frowned, shifting closer. “Spending time with you makes me happy, Keith. I want to be around you as much as I can before I leave.” _

_ Keith fought back the knot in his chest and the lump in his throat without much success. Instead he accepted the awkward hug Shiro offered him, clutching just a little too tightly to Shiro’s tank top.  _

_ “I’m gonna miss you.” _

_ “I’m gonna miss you, too.” _

_ Neither mentioned it the next morning when they woke still holding onto each other.  _

=================================

The whole of the Coalition has been meeting for days now. The Blade has stayed close to Allura and Voltron, so Keith is able to spend more time aboard the castleship than he had been. This seems to settle Shiro’s worries that Kolivan would try to assimilate him. The team spends more time together than ever, training their bodies and minds and doing all they can to strengthen their bonds with their lions and each other. Keith has never felt so close to another person, let alone four. 

It’s all in preparation for an attack set to happen in two days. Shiro, Allura, and Kolivan have been glued to each other, heads close and voices low and overlapping as they plan everything. The Blade and other resistance fighters have gotten involved as well, though the Coalition is still too new to have quite the army needed to confront Zarkon head-on.  Keith and Lance have been tasked with teaching flight maneuvers to the pilots in the Coalition while Hunk and Pidge work with some Olkarian and full-Galra Blade members to learn more about Galran technology. In the meantime, Keith’s training with the Blade has been put on hold.

He still feels jittery though with his need to learn more about his past, about his mother. When he isn’t thinking of the upcoming battle, he’s thinking about how his mother fits into all of this. He wonders how she had gotten her hands on a Marmora blade, why she’d given it to Keith, how she’d ended up with a human and had Keith in the first place when he hadn’t known Earth until he’d gone by order of the Empire. The more he thinks it over, the less it makes sense to him. 

And when he isn’t thinking of his mother, Keith thinks of Shiro.

They’ve been less tense since his more frequent appearances in training, but he can’t help but feel there’s still some sort of wall between them. He has yet to put a name to what it is -- and he’s not even sure if Shiro notices it at all -- but it has him questioning all his interactions with his best friend. 

Keith isn’t stupid. He knows something has changed on his end, has probably been this way since before Voltron and space and war. The idea of friendship between them has long grown painful rather than comforting. Their touches never last long enough. Shiro’s smiles are too freely handed out to everyone. Keith’s stomach is in constant turmoil when he’s in Shiro’s presence, and his knees have grown suspiciously weak. He hasn’t read too many books or seen too many movies, but even he can guess at what this is. Putting a name to it is the easy part, though.

“You’ve been really spaced out lately, dude,” Hunk says to him the day before they’re scheduled to implement their plan.

“Nice pun,” Lance mutters with a fist bump to Hunk’s already waiting knuckles. 

“Yeah, what’s up with you?” Pidge chimes in. She’s even decided to look up from her computer  for the conversation. 

“Nothing,” Keith says automatically and then revises after a second. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“I’m sure we all do right now.”

Coran’s head pops up from behind the green lion’s giant metal paw. The goggles he’s been wearing were knocked askew at some point and rest crooked across his forehead, and his mustache has lost a little bit of its usual pomp. 

“It’s to be expected at a time like this,” he continues. “Tensions are high. Battle is on the horizon. King Alfor used to get the same way before a big one, quiet and brooding. Maybe it’s a red paladin thing.”

“I’m not brooding,” Keith says with a frown. 

“Keith is always brooding,” Lance chimes in as if Keith hadn’t spoken. “What does that mean?”

“Hmm,” Coran says. He pinches at his chin with gloved fingers in thought. “I’m not sure about that. King Alfor was quite jovial the rest of the time.”

“I can be jovial.”

Pidge snorts, returning to whatever she’d been messing with on her computer. She makes a noise of success, and Coran returns it from where he’s buried himself back inside the mechanics of the green lion. There’s the sound of a blowtorch, or the Altea equivalent, and then he jumps back up from his position. 

“That should do it,” he exclaims with a wide grin. “Hit it, Number Five!” 

Pidge types something into her computer and then suddenly the green lion disappears.

“Woah, I’ve never seen that up close before,” Hunk says, leaning forward until his face is mashed up against the lion’s invisible leg. 

Lance darts around the space in his excitement, squinting dramatically at the empty space. “That’s totally cool. Can you do it to Blue?”

“Maybe later,” Pidge says. “It takes a while. This is just an updated version of the cloaking I had before. It should last longer now and remain undetected under a wider variety of radar systems. It’ll come in handy tomorrow.”

“Great job, Pidge.”

They all turn at the voice to watch Shiro and Allura walk across the hangar in tandem with proud smiles. Pidge squirms under the hand Shiro places on her head but can’t manage to hide her happy blush. Keith thinks of all the times Shiro had told him back at the Garrison that he wanted little siblings and smirks at the sight of him mussing up Pidge’s hair with a laugh. 

“You too, Coran,” Allura tacts on. “You both make a wonderful team.”

“Why thank you, Princess,” Coran says, puffing out his chest.

“The cloak should last longer now which means the window for infiltration tomorrow won’t be so small.”

“We can use all the help we can get,” Shiro says. “I’ll make sure to update Kolivan and the others on what to expect.”

“So, we’re really doing this, huh?” Hunk says. He’s begun to twitch the way he always does when he’s nervous, and Lance steps up to him with a slap on the back.

“It’s just a cargo ship. We’ll be fine, dude. Plus we’ve got the Blade and everyone helping us.”

“Yeah, but it’s a weapons and research ship, which means it’s full of crazy lasers and bombs and who knows what else!”

Keith grimaces at the crazed look in Hunk’s eye, crossing his arms in a feeble attempt to protect himself from it. He notices Pidge pulling her laptop closer to her, too, and feels at least a little vindicated in being so put out by Hunk’s words.

“We have a plan,” Shiro says soothingly. “We have all the information we need on the ship and it’s personnel, and like Lance said, we have the Blade of Marmora and the Coalition on our side. We just all have to stick to our roles, and we’ll be fine.”

“Shiro’s right. If anyone can do this, it’s you five,” Allura chimes in. 

Overall, it’s a pretty typical pep talk coming from Shiro and Allura, but it still does the trick nevertheless. They all perk up considerably with the words. Keith catches Shiro’s eye and they smile softly at one another as Lance goes on once more about how badly he wants an invisible lion, too. It all feels so familiar and so new. Keith hadn’t realized how much he missed these moments with his friends -- his family. 

That night he sleeps better than he thought he would.

-

Last minute preparations happen in a frenzy around him while Keith watches it all in a daze. He can’t help with this part, and it bothers him more than he would like to admit. Shiro takes one look at his face and reminds him of his role as a pilot, a paladin, keeping him grounded with a firm grip on the shoulder. 

Then the call comes for the paladins to board their lions, and he feels something inside him settle. This is what he knows. Even as a member of the Blade of Marmora he’s never belonged, never fit in quite as well. But these people, the Paladins of Voltron, his friends -- they’re more than all of those things. They’re his family. 

He joins in the huddle before lift-off, one built on touch and softly whispered words wishing luck and good fortune. They race to their lions with more spirit than Keith thinks they’ve ever had before a battle. He can feel it thrumming beneath his skin, running hand-in-hand with the adrenaline coursing through his veins in a perfect sort of harmony. He grins when Red lights up and roars along with the other lions. 

The plan is relatively simple. Voltron is to be the distraction. While they light up as many fighters as the Galra give them out in open space, the Marmora are to infiltrate the ship, get the information they need and steal as many weapons as they can. When they’re ready, Pidge and Green will go dark and meet the Blade at a cargo hold to load up while the rest of the rebel fighters fill in for her. 

All information points to an easy in-and-out mission. The ship is a simple cargo ship, not built for extended fighting. Most of the weapons on board will be dormant and locked up for transportation and will pose no threat to the attack and the number of fighters aboard should be limited, though still plenty enough to keep their distraction going. By the time back-up can arrive, they’ll be gone.

At least, that’s how things were supposed to go. 

Keith wonders how the situation could have turned into something like this. The only thing he can think of is that somehow the Empire knew, and he momentarily panics at the thought that somehow they got the information from him before tossing that idea away before it can distract him.

“Hunk, you’ve got three on your flank!” he shouts into the comms, dodging errant shots from all over. 

The lions have been scattered all around, fighting desperately not to be taken out by the sheer number of fighter ships swarming around them. Almost as soon as they’d made their appearance, two battleships had arrived, immediately dispatching fighters into a glowing purple cloud before them. 

“How did they know we were coming?” Lance says. His voice has gone shrill with panic, a feeling Keith can vaguely feel spreading through the lions’ bonds.

“This is crazy!” Pidge sounds even worse off.

“Stay focused guys,” Shiro says. “This isn’t what we were expecting but we have to fight through it.”

“How?” Hunk says. He sounds the worst of all of them. “We can’t even form Voltron with these guys all over us.”

“Is there any chance of back-up?” Shiro asks.

“We’re trying to help, but we’re tied up, as well,” Allura says. Her voice is strained, and Keith thinks he can hear explosions in the background of her comm and takes a brief moment to worry about the castle’s defenses. “Plyz! Do you have an opening to deploy?”

“Working on it!” The commander’s voice has an odd clicking type cadence to it that throws Keith off everytime he hears her speak. Charged up and frantic, the clicking gets worse, and he struggles to understand her for a moment before he’s dragged back into the flight.

He doesn’t think they can rely on the rebel fleet too much in this fight. He and Lance had taught them as much as they could, and while they were already ample fighters, they simply don’t have the technical engineering for a fight this big. Their ships will only last so long in a battlefield so chaotic. 

“Shiro, we need to find an opening,” he says through gritted teeth.

He sends Red into a barrel roll through a cluster of Galra fighters, laser firing in a spiral with the movement. Small silent explosions follow in his wake, and he takes the next few seconds to breathe. He can see Lance and Hunk teaming up in his peripheral, combining ice with sheer brutal force to break ships into small, crystalline pieces. Pidge has a group of fighters tied up in vines so constricting that their metal bends under the pressure. Shiro has resorted to his jaw blade, flying in long sweeping lines across the space to slice open ships with his usual proficiency. Keith considers a moment, fires Red’s heat ray through a battalion of incoming fighters, and watches as they melt into floating puddles of liquid metal.

“Shiro!” he yells, and Shiro must understand what he means, because he pulls up in the middle of the formation they’ve unwittingly created.

“Form Voltron!” he commands, and they each fall in around him among the wreckage they’ve created in their small pocket of space.

Keith grins sharply until something flashes and a shudder runs through Red and up through his bones, sending his limbs sprawling and his eyes rolling back into his head.

=================================

_ “Keith!” _

_ He turned at the voice. His lips stretched almost immediately into a smile when he caught sight of Shiro jogging toward him. He almost wanted to laugh at the expressions of those in the hallway, the ones who had never seen Shiro outside of press-releases and formal teaching. Keith could admit he’d been shocked too to discover Shiro’s less reserved side. He was happy every day that he did, because it meant he got to see Shiro’s goofy grin running straight for him on a regular basis. _

_ “Hey,” he said once Shiro had caught up. “How was debrief?” _

_ “It was alright.” Shiro’s shrug told him it was boring and way too long, but Keith didn’t mention it. “It’s nice to work with Matt and Mr. Holt. They have a lot of good ideas.” _

_ “Yeah, I bet,” Keith said. “Sam Holt is practically the president of the Space Science Fanclub.” _

_ Shiro elbowed him gently with a chuckle. “I think it’s a little more than just ‘space science’,” he said teasingly. _

_ Keith shrugged and attempted to hide a pleased smile in his shoulder. He was almost positive he didn’t succeed judging by Shiro’s delighted laugh. He thought maybe he was okay with that. _

=================================

Everything is quiet and loud at the same time. Keith tries to get his body working but can’t seem to manage it. He doesn’t know why it’s so dark until his eyelids flutter and he realizes his eyes are closed. Then he finds himself struggling to open them.

He’s never felt something quite like this. His entire body feels heavy even though he thinks he might be floating. His hearing is making a valiant effort to come back, and Keith hears a distant murmur in his ear before it fades back out. He’s not sure how long he’s left stagnant like that, panic and confusion slowly beginning to take over when there’s nothing else for him to do. It isn’t until he opens his eyes and his ears pops back into use that he can take ahold of himself and the situation a little better.

He can’t tell what all is happening though the onslaught of noise in his ear almost makes him gag. The pain of it sends his vision blurring once more. He thinks maybe somebody is shouting, thinks maybe he hears his name, before his vision fades back out completely, taking his consciousness along with it.

=================================

_ Keith tried not to make his discomfort too obvious as his hand was grasped firmly and given a good shake. _

_ “Keith, this is Matt Holt,” Shiro said with badly hidden excitement. “Matt, this is Keith. I’ve told you a little about him.” _

_ “A little?” Matt said. Keith frowned at the teasing tone and Shiro’s resulting blush, trying to understand the joke, but quickly gave up. “It’s nice to meet you, man. From what I hear, you’re the next Shiro.” _

_ Keith stumbled a little in his reply. “Oh -- uh -- I don’t -- I guess?” _

_ Matt laughed, slapping him on the shoulder the same way Shiro had done countless times before. The touch, while not unwelcome, felt strange coming from somebody else, and Keith had to wonder if this was something a lot of humans did. He didn’t think he’d ever been casually touched so much in his life. _

_ “Keith’s an amazing pilot,” Shiro said with that bit of pride in his voice that never failed to make Keith’s cheeks turn pink, yet another odd human trait. “He’ll be even better than me in no time. He’ll be discovering new galaxies.” _

_ Matt laughed again, and Keith tried his best to pretend that he hadn’t already done that. He hoped the twitch of his fingers and his half-hearted smile didn’t give him away. _

=================================

When Keith comes to a second time, he takes a moment longer to get himself in order. Once he regains some movement, he reaches up and pulls his helmet off with much more effort than the act should warrant. All of the unbearable noise cuts off instantly, and he sighs in relief at the quiet that greets him. 

Now that he has his vision back, he can see the faint glow of the cockpit around him, emergency lights just bright enough for him to see his way around. It takes him a moment to wonder why they’re on in the first place, wonder what happened to Red and why her systems seem to be completely knocked out. His range of movement is still limited but he manages to reach out and grasp a handhold at the roof of the cockpit from where he’s floating aimlessly. With the systems down, that means no gravity.

He pushes enough to send himself over to the console, ignoring the strain in his muscles that shouldn’t be there. Although he’s never needed it before, Keith still knows where the manual screens are and brings one up to activate his hub screen. He gasps at the sight that greets him. 

The view is limited from the small external camera, but it’s enough to see that the rebels are fighting alongside Marmora fighter ships against the still veritable army of Galra shooting all over the place. The Galra are clearly gaining the upper hand in the fight and Keith finds his answer as to why when Red rotates enough to show him Blue and Yellow floating prone in space, lights dark and structures unmoving. 

He doesn’t get a chance to wonder what exactly happened when another burst of light hits his eyes. He cries out at the intensity of it, throwing his arms in front of his face to try and block, thought it does little to help as he can already feel his mind going numb once more.

=================================

_ The ship was huge. Keith couldn’t help but wonder how only three people could pilot it out of the pull of Earth’s atmosphere. Knowing Shiro and his ability though, it seemed possible.  _

_ “So this is it, huh?” Keith said.  _

_ Shiro looked over at him and smiled small and soft. He placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder, a well-practiced motion, and gave it a small squeeze. “This is it,” he said. “In a few hours, I’ll finally be up among the stars.” _

_ Keith felt unbridled fondness for his friend then and knew his eyes must be reflecting that, but he did nothing to stop it. Shiro returned the expression and pulled him in for a hug. _

_ “I can’t believe you’re going to be gone for over a year,” Keith muttered into Shiro’s shoulder. “It’ll be weird not having you around.” _

_ “You’re going to do great, Keith,” Shiro said. He pulled away to rest his hands on both of Keith’s shoulders, meeting his gaze with a firm one of his own. Keith had seen that look many times on Shiro’s face, when he went in for important flight tests and when he had meetings for the Kerberos mission,but he’d never seen it directed at himself before. It was full of a determination Keith felt he wasn’t quite worthy of. “You’re going to be the best pilot in the galaxy.” _

_ Keith swallowed thickly, ignoring the prickle at the corners of his eyes. He glanced away for a moment, could see Matt and Sam saying goodbye to their own family across the launch site and realized just what it meant that Shiro had asked him to see him off. His hands curled into fists at his sides. _

_ “I just wish I could be here to watch you graduate,” Shiro said with a laugh, one infectious enough to have Keith’s own chest shaking with it.  _

_ “Kerberos is more important,” Keith said. “You’re making history, and -- and I can’t think of anymore more deserving.” _

_ Shiro yanked him back into a hug, this one tighter and even more all-consuming. Keith tried his best to memorize the feel of it, the warmth and security and contentment, to keep for later.  _

=================================

This time when Keith wakes up, he does so much quicker, regaining his senses and movements almost right away. He’s been set to floating around the cockpit again and has to do a few embarrassing stretches to get himself to a handhold. The hub screen has gone dark again since his hand had been pulled away from the control panel, and he makes no moves to turn it back on. Instead he pushes himself over to his helmet, snatching it from the air before he crashes into the pilot seat. He can hear shouting before he even has it placed back over his head.

“Keith! Keith, are you there?”

“Can anyone get ahold of Keith?”

“Keith, buddy. Please, don’t be dead.”

“Hunk!”

“Don’t turn on your hub screens,” Keith groans into the comm and winces when he’s met with a cacophony of yells too scrambled to understand.

“Keith.” Shiro’s voice comes through clear and manages to quiet the others. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just got hit with another one of those blasts,” he says. “What was that?”

“I don’t know, but it took out all the lions,” Hunk says. Keith can tell he’s already gone into full panic mode.

“It seems to be some sort of sonic wave,” Pidge says, “but it’s only affecting the lions and nothing else. Maybe it’s hardwired to target the specific ore the lions are made from?” 

“Whatever it is, we’re totally screwed,” Lance says. “And so are the Blade and the Coalition if we can’t get back online.”

“Is there any way to stop it?” Shiro asks.

“We’d have to do it from inside the ship,” Pidge says.

There’s a long silence until Shiro’s sigh breaks it. “Looks like we’re going inside the ship, then.”

“How?” Lance says incredulously.

“We’ll have to use our jetpacks,” Keith says. “There’re manual controls to open the hatches on the top of the lions’ heads.”

“I see a maintenance entrance on the side of the ship that we can use. My hand should give us access,” Shiro adds. “Pidge, do you know where we need to go?”

“I’ve got blueprints for all types of Galra ships. We’ll need to find the weapons control room.”

“Alright, so we have a plan then. We’ll need to time this right so we all get to the entrance within a few seconds of each other. The less noticed we can be, the better.” Keith can hear Shiro moving around in the background before it falls quiet. “Is everybody ready to do this?”

“What about all the fighters?” Lance says nervously.

“The Marmora and the rebels will have to be our distraction,” Shiro says. “We’re too small to register as hostiles. Hopefully they’ll think we’re debris.”

“This plan doesn’t sound very good,” Hunk says.

“It’s the only one we have,” Keith practically growls. He’s already positioned himself at the cockpit entrance up above and is waiting for the signal to go.

“Keith,” Shiro intones firmly. “Hunk, we need everyone on board for this. I know it’s risky, but we can’t stay in our lions while the others fight. Are you with us?”

Keith tries not to feel aggravated with Hunk’s long silence and nervous heavy breathing and sighs in relief when he agrees. 

“Once we’re outside our lions, I can map a course for each of us to the maintenance hatch,” Pidge says. “It’s gonna be a bumpy ride though. We should wait until the next wave. That’ll give us about two dobashes before the next one.”

Just as she finishes, a shudder runs through Red and Keith grits his teeth against the sensation. At least this time he stays awake through it, though his head feels like it’s been tossed about a few times for a moment after.

“Everyone okay?” Shiro asks and receives a tentative yes from all the others. “Alright, guys. Exit your lions.”

The pressurized entrance almost drags Keith out into open space when he opens it but he manages to hang on long enough to crouch atop Red’s head with a firm grip on one of the handholds there. He can see the others doing the same on their lions around him and then a message pings over his helmet. It pulls up an image in front of his eyes displaying a route through the debris to the ship.

“Keith, it looks like you’re the farthest from the entrance,” Pidge says.

“Of course,” he mutters.

“If everyone jumps at the same time, we should all get there within a few ticks of each other.”

“On my mark,” Shiro says.

Keith takes in a deep breath as Shiro counts down, legs tensing in preparation. When Shiro reaches the end, he pushes off with as much strength as he can, activating his jets just a second after. The force of it is enough to send him jerking forward before he reaches a steady speed. He’s moving faster than he thought he would and wobbles a bit in his direction but manages to stay on course. He can see the others shooting across the open space from the corner of his eye.

“I’m here!” Lance yells first.

“Here,” Shiro says next. “Opening the hatch.”

“Here,” Hunk pants.

Keith can hear them breathing heavily as they move inside the ship. He glances over to see a green blur approaching fast. The distraction keeps him from noticing the piece of debris that’s been knocked into his path quick enough to evade. His arm skims the side hard enough to send him spiraling off course, and he cries out when his shoulder is jerked roughly back from the impact.

“Keith!” 

He doesn’t realize his eyes have clenched shut until the pain has faded a little, and he opens them to find himself still spinning feet away from his calculated course. With a few stabilizing blasts of his jets, he rights himself, facing the hatch where he can see the other paladins waiting for him.

“Keith, are you alright?” Shiro asks, tone fraught with worry.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay,” he says through gritted teeth.

“Sending you a revised course now,” Pidge says. “You’ll need to hurry Keith. Another wave should be coming in under 20 ticks.”

The new course pops up on his helmet, and he readies himself. Switching on his jets, he moves sluggishly through the crowd of broken metal and tubing. He’s only halfway through when he feels his skin tingle, hairs standing on end and notices a glow from the corner of his eye growing brighter and brighter.

“Keith!”

“I know,” he says roughly. 

Keith uses debris to boost himself faster as he goes, but he can already tell he’s not going to make it before the next blast goes off. He grunts in frustration, pushing as hard as he can. He clears the debris with one last jump just as the glow burns its brightest, exploding outward. His eyes are already beginning to burn, and he can see the hatch just in front of him. 

Screaming with the effort, he wills himself to  _ move _ . It’s only when the blast of light hits him that his eyes begin to feel different, like they’re changing form. He’s engulfed in white nothingness before he can do anything about it and comes out the other side sprawled across the floor of the Galra ship inside the firmly closed maintenance hatch.

“Ugh,” he moans, and then freezes when he catches Shiro’s gaze. Shiro doesn’t react outright, so Keith can only assume his eyes have gone back to normal, or at least back to human. 

“I can’t believe that didn’t knock you out,” Pidge says.

“Maybe it’s because he’s Galra,” Hunk says.

“You say that about everything.” Lance rolls his eyes as Shiro helps Keith to his feet.

“Is everyone okay?” he asks the team and gets answering nods. “Okay. Where to next, Pidge?”

Pidge guides them through surprisingly empty corridors. It seems most of the sentries and Galra soldiers have been sent out in the fighter ships currently zipping around outside.  _ Small blessings _ , Keith can only think. 

Lance takes out the two guards at the control room when they arrive with two well aimed shots of his bayard and they move in, shoving the still sentry bodies out of the way. Pidge immediately hooks up to the console, tapping quickly at her laptop. 

“Bringing up the ship schematics now,” she says. “It looks like the controls for this weapon are in another location, near the bridge of the ship.”

“That’s not good,” Lance says.

“It’s the only way to shut it down. I can’t do it from here,” Pidge explains. “They’ve got it separated probably for this exact reason.”

“Keith and I will go,” Shiro says. The others go to argue but fall silent when he holds up a hand. “I can use my hand to access the controls. Keith is the best at movingly quietly unnoticed with all his Marmora training. You three can stay here. Hunk, Pidge -- you two will walk us through what to do when we get there. Lance -- you’ll need to keep an eye on things here, take out anything coming this way that isn’t me or Keith.”

Keith watches as they mull over Shiro’s words. Pidge is already back to typing on her laptop and soon pulls up multiple screens in front of her. “I’ve hacked into the cameras for the ship. I’ll guide you to the controls.”

“I can probably help with the mechanics once you get there. There might be a way to manually shut it down,” Hunk says.

Lance simply lifts his rifle, letting it rest on his shoulder with a determined grin.

“Alright,” Shiro says smiling. “Keith, let’s head out.”

Keith nods, pulling out his Marmora blade with a steady grip. He can hear Pidge giving them directions over the comms but doesn’t put much effort into paying attention, instead following Shiro’s directions while he keeps an eye on their surroundings. They manage to avoid any other guards until they reach the controls where they spend a few minutes to take out the sentries standing guard there. The technological soldiers are always fairly easy to deal with.

Once Keith gets a good look around the room, though, he goes still. For a moment, he’s back with Thace, trying to override the system on Zarkon’s ship and watching his companion sacrifice himself for the cause just like Keith has heard Kolivan say so many times is expected of them. It isn’t until Shiro touches his shoulder with a concerned look that he snaps out of it and gestures for Shiro to go ahead to the controls. He does so after a pause.

“Pidge, we’re at the controls. What now?” he says into the comms, stepping up to the console protruding from the floor. The language is all Galran and while Keith knows exactly what it says, he can tell Shiro is at a complete loss.

“Alright, I’m gonna walk you through it step by step,” Pidge says. Keith is just glad that she’s spent the time to learn Galran so he won’t have to explain himself for helping out.

He watches idly as Shiro hooks his arm up to the wiring under a panel in the console. Pidge and Hunk rattle off terms Keith has no hope of understanding and keep stressing the importance of their timing as they go. When it seems like they’ve gotten where they need, Pidge counts down and Shiro does … something on the console that sends a hum through the entire room before the lights inside dim and it falls quiet.

“Is that it?” Lance asks.

“Yep,” Pidge says.. She has that self-satisfied tone in her voice that’s grown so familiar. “I infected the system with one of my viruses. Now Shiro just needs to destroy the console. Also while you were doing that, I managed to download most of the weapons schematics they have saved on --”

A loud shrieking alarm interrupts her then, sending Keith’s ears ringing. He grunts at the sudden onslaught of noise, covering his ears and seeing Shiro do the same from the corner of his eye. They look at each other with worry. Shiro hastens to unattach his arm and then it’s lighting up  brilliant purple and slicing easily through the entire console down to the floor. 

“Get back to the hatch,” Shiro yells into the comms.

The trio give their affirmative in tandem. Shiro practically drags Keith with the weight of his gaze as he runs over. Keith moves as soon as Shiro’s reached him, and they’ve almost reached the door when it opens on its own. A group of Galran soldiers is already standing there waiting for them, one ahead of the rest in full gear. He’s clearly an officer of importance judging by his placement and the symbol on his uniform. Shiro grabs Keith’s arm and brings them to a halt.

The commander says something but Keith doesn’t hear it over the sudden oppressing silence filling his head. He recognizes those markings across the Galran’s brow, the patches of fur along his jaw and down the back of his head, the height and build and stance. Shiro has already crouched low, ready to pounce with his arm lit up and burning hot. The soldiers in front of them do the same, guns aimed directly at them as they begin to fan out in a semi-circle to block off the entrance. 

Keith already knows they won’t be able to fight their way out of this. There are too many soldiers and undoubtedly more on the way. The other paladins are already heading off the ship, hopefully without interference with all the attention on Shiro and Keith. Everyone else is still fighting outside. Keith thinks maybe he and Shiro are the strongest hand-to-hand fighters on the team, but still it won’t be enough. He knows what would be though.

He looks over at Shiro, sees his mouth moving angrily in a shout, though he still can’t process just what he’s saying. Then he looks back at the Galra. The commander is watching them with hatred burned into the lines of his face. Keith can see the fear there, too -- the fear of failing the Empire and being punished, the fear of shame and ostracization from the rest of his comrades. He knows that feeling more intimately than he could ever admit.

Taking a deep breath, Keith reaches up to remove his helmet. The movement garners everyone’s attention, but he keeps his eyes on the commander, unwilling to see Shiro’s expression as he ruins everything good in his life in one single moment. 

It takes only a few seconds for the change to happen. He feels it crawl across his skin quickly, color darkening, hair thickening, nails and teeth and ears elongating. His vision sharpens in a snap, hearing coming to him clearer than before quick enough to hear Shiro’s harsh inhale of breath. The commander has frozen in surprise before his expression switches to recognition. Keith smiles sadly.

“Jirovok,” Keith says. 

His old friend flinches and then hardens, a fist clenching at his side. “Keito,” he breathes. “We thought you dead.” Keith can only shrug. “Instead you’re just a traitor.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t lie.”

Keith swallows and steps forward with a hand outstretched. Jirovok lifts a gun his way, the sound of its charge zipping through the air, and Keith stops. He can hear Shiro practically growl behind him at the action.

“Please, Jirovok,” Keith implores. “You know why.”

And his friend does because they’d felt the same growing up, always wondering just what the point was of Zarkon’s imperialism, his violence and rage at beings completely removed. They’d only ever discussed it in the quiet of their shared quarters, whispering low for fear of being overheard. Keith can’t even remember how it started, but he knows that they’d both been too afraid and too indoctrinated to really stand up against it all being the half-breeds they were. He wonders how Jirovok got here leading a ship and laying traps for the resistance. 

“You were meant to bring Voltron to Zarkon, not protect it,” Jirovok says snarling. “Not to become part of it.”

“There’s more than just Zarkon and his madness,” Keith says. “We knew that when we were young. Sending me to Earth was his biggest mistake.”

“And I will fix it for him. Nothing better to gain his praise.”

Keith grimaces, knowing the plan would be futile even if Zarkon were around to fulfill it. “You know it wouldn’t matter.”

Jirovok’s expression grows even darker, frown twisted with more emotion than Keith has ever seen a Galra show. Keith wants to remind him, to plead, to fight if he has to, but he finds himself only able to stare, to watch and wait. All he can muster is a simple, “Please.”

The soldiers twitch with uncertainty in the quiet that follows. Keith doesn’t want to wait long enough for them to become trigger anxious, but he isn’t sure what else he can do. One wrong movement could have Jirovok laying him out flat no matter Keith’s arguments, and then where would Shiro be? Where would Voltron be?

Jirovok’s face relaxes only minutely but it’s enough for Keith to breathe a little easier. The gun in his face drops, facing the floor. Keith meets his friend’s eye for a long moment, trying to put everything he wants to say but doesn’t have the time for into one passing glance. Jirovok steps out of the way, gesturing for his soldiers to stand down.

“Voltron better win this fight,” he says quietly.

Keith nods ignoring the Galra soldiers hesitantly lowering their weapons and heads for the exit without hesitation. He hears Shiro’s footsteps behind him almost immediately. As they leave the control room, Keith catches a glimpse of his reflection in the reflective metal of the doorway. He almost flinches at the sight of purple skin and ears too big to be human. Without meeting Shiro’s eyes, he starts the run back to the maintenance hatch as his looks fade slowly from Galra to human once more.

=================================

_ It had been a little over four months since Shiro left for Kerberos. Keith tried his hardest not to let it affect him, though even he could see that his work ethic had begun to falter. With Shiro gone, Keith was alone again. For the first time, he realized that he didn’t really interact with anyone else. He wasn’t here to make friends and so it never seemed important to try and do so. Yet Shiro had somehow managed to sneak his way in. By the time Shiro had left, he’d almost completely forgotten his reason for coming to Earth in the first place. _

_ Keith was lost. While the feeling was familiar, this time felt different, bigger and more all-consuming. Everything seemed so tedious and pointless without Shiro there to encourage him and to teach him. For the first time in his life, Keith felt like he couldn’t function without the help of another. The only thing he had left was his original mission. He made half-hearted efforts to search the desert, but without Shiro there on the hoverbike with him, it wasn’t the same.  _

_ By now, Shiro and his team should have made it to Pluto’s moon and started their research. Keith tried to think of the excited expression on Shiro’s face once they broke through Earth’s atmosphere, Matt’s pure joy at getting his hands on some space rock right from the source. The image was an amusing one as Keith had known these things all his life. He wondered what it was like to still be so enthusiastic about space travel, new discoveries of planets and species. Then he had to laugh imagining Shiro and Matt meeting an alien species for the first time, maybe even seeing Keith for the first time, his other side which he was too afraid to reveal. _

_ It wasn’t so funny after that. _

_ The Kerberos mission had seen discussions buzzing across the Garrison since it was announced. It had been a long time since someone made history like this in space travel, and this was possibly the biggest discovery to be made. Keith wondered if humans never expected to reach the edge of their galaxy.  _

_ He tried to ignore the conversations that surrounded him in the hallways, in classrooms, in the cafeteria. Everything seemed to remind him that Shiro wasn’t here. He wanted to be proud, and he was, but he couldn’t stop the loneliness that crept up either. Hearing these constant discussions didn’t help.  _

_ He wished more than anything that he was authorized to know what was going on with the Kerberos team. They regularly transmitted progress reports back to the Garrison, but only those involved in the mission were allowed to listen in. Keith thought briefly about hacking into Iverson’s computer but knew better than to risk his own mission for a personal need. He’d already taken all the risks he could with the Garrison systems when he searched them for the energy signatures. He couldn’t take anymore, even for Shiro. _

_ Announcements were still made occasionally to keep the public updated on the bare minimum. Keith had to satisfy himself with those. Usually he did so just by watching the news though reports were sent out to students through their Garrison emails. Students were expected to stay up-to-date though it hadn’t been hard to convince them. Shiro was the golden boy, and everyone wanted to watch him succeed. _

_ The reports were typically sent out once a week, so Keith was a bit put out when he didn’t receive one this week. No one else spoke of it so he thought little of the fact and continued on his way. After a few days with no word, the school began to hum with curiosity. While Keith didn’t take part in the gossip, he could hear his peers wondering what was going on, whether maybe something had gone wrong. He chose not to believe that. _

_ It was almost two weeks later, the likes of which Keith had spent scouring the public news sources for any information and coming up empty, that a message was sent out for everyone to tune into a press conference that would be airing at 2:00 pm. Those in class would watch it there where the teachers were to turn it on at precisely that time. The message had the student body buzzing louder than ever. _

_ Keith was finished with classes by that time. He chose the safety of his room to watch the broadcast where he could be alone while Todd was in class. The anchormen were beside themselves with theories and fake worry over the news yet to come. Keith tried to tune them out as he waited by doing homework. _

_ “Now the time has come,” one of the anchormen on screen said finally. “We’ll take you now to Pamela Chester who is on site.” _

_ Keith looked up at the screen just in time to see it switch over to an immaculately dressed woman standing in a room crowded with other reporters. There was a low murmur behind her but her mic picked up her voice out of the group enough to hear her next words. _

_ “Thank you, Don,” she said. “Today a press conference was called by the Texas branch of the United States Galaxy Garrison in regards to the recent Kerberos Mission. No other information has been forthcoming so everyone is curious to know just what all the excitement is about. Commander Mitch Iverson of the Garrison will be the one to make the announcement in just a few moments.” _

_ Keith blinked slowly in confusion. He hadn’t realized Iverson left base today. A trickle of worry wormed its way through him, pushing his back up straighter and his limbs taught. Iverson was in charge of everything to do with Shiro, so his involvement could only mean something happened to Shiro or the mission. _

_ “It looks like it’s about to start,” Pamela said on screen.  _

_ The camera panned over to a podium set atop a raised stage. Behind it was only a blank wall with the Galaxy Garrison logo printed in the center. As Keith watched, Iverson took to the stage, stepping up behind the podium and clearing his throat into the mic. _

_ “Thank you all for coming,” he said gruffly. “My name is Commander Mitch Iverson of the Texas branch of the United States Galaxy Garrison. We called this press conference today to make an announcement on the Kerberos Mission. _

_ “There has been a lot of speculation on why we have waited so long to come forward with information. The reason was that we were making our best efforts to ensure our theories were correct to our best abilities. I will share them with you know. _

_ “At 3:08 am Central, we received a distress signal from Space Shuttle Dallas. There was no manual transmission from any of the crewmembers. At approximately 3:22 am Central, we lost all contact with Space Shuttle Dallas and her crewmembers.” _

_ Keith inhaled sharply, dropping the tablet in his hand. It bounced off his bed to crack against the hard floor, but he barely noticed. _

_ “After thorough investigation, it is believed that the Space Shuttle Dallas crashed on Kerberos due to pilot error.” _

_ Muttering swarmed through the crowd at this, and Iverson patiently waited until it quieted to continue. By that point, Keith had gripped his legs so hard he could swear he’d pierced the skin through his pants with his nails.  _

_ “The crewmembers of Space Shuttle Dallas -- Samuel Holt, Matthew Holt, and Takashi Shirogane -- have all been reported missing and are currently presumed dead.” _

_ The noise surged, voices shouting over one another with their questions but it all faded away as Keith felt his vision narrow. He watched Iverson hold up a hand, say something into the mic he didn’t hear, and walk away with security personnel in tow. It was hard to concentrate on it all when Keith could feel everything around him falling apart. He was hollow and so was the world. _

_ Keith wasn’t positive when he had stood or when he’d made it into the hallway, but the next thing he knew, he was running. There were only a few people in the hallways, but he made no effort to dodge them either way. His senses had yet to come back to him, so he had no idea if he hit any of them, if they yelled after him, if they tried to slow him down. All he knew was his labored breathing and heavy steps. _

_ The hoverbike was right where it always was in the hangar. The personnel there had no chance of stopping him when he jumped atop it, turned the engine over with a flick of the key, and raced out the door. He was on open desert ground in a matter of seconds. Dust picked up around him in a hazy cloud as he went. He ignored the sting in his eyes, revving the engine, willing it to go faster and faster and faster until everything surrounding him became one big blur. Maybe it was his speed or maybe it was the wetness in his eyes; he couldn’t know. _

_ Keith wasn’t sure of his destination until he saw the little shack coming up quick. He parked there with a violent slide, nearly falling off the bike in his haste to get inside. Bursting through the door sent up a small puff of dust and sand. No matter how many times he and Shiro had returned here and cleaned it, the sand always found its way back in through the cracked windows and ill-fitting door.  _

_ Collapsing on the couch, Keith took a moment to try and control his breathing. It remained as erratic as his heartbeat despite his best efforts and only grew more so as a sob barrelled up his throat.  _

_ He couldn’t remember ever feeling anything as strongly as this. He’d seen his comrades die in front of him, watched innocent people be imprisoned, tortured, played with like they were merely toys. But Shiro...Shiro was  _ his _. And now he was gone. Permanently.  _

_ Keith refused to believe it had been Shiro’s fault. Shiro’s talent as a pilot was unparalleled, on Earth and among the thousands of pilots Keith had met in his lifetime. He knew Shiro would never fail, would never let his friends die.  _

_ But in the end, it didn’t really matter. Either way, Matt and Sam Holt were dead. Shiro was dead. Keith would never see his face again, never endure another hopeless tutoring session or provoke another late-night trip to the simulators. They would never get the chance to explore the desert on the bike they built together, relax in the shack they’d found and cleaned up together, be together. _

_ The only thing he could do was crumple on that old couch and cry for his lost friend. His entire frame shook with the efforts of it. For a long time, nothing else mattered but expelling this horrible feeling from his body through tears and loud wretched sobs. He just wanted it gone. He didn’t want to feel anymore if this is what it truly entailed.  _

_ By the time he’d stopped shaking, the sun was almost set and the shack had grown almost too dark to see. Keith blearily glanced around taking in the soft whistling of wind and subtle creaking of the wooden structure. Here, everything was quiet. His mind settled along with the silence, and he grew numb. _

_ When he sat up, his limbs were almost heavy enough to drag him back down. He gave a quick swipe over his face with his forearm though he doubted it really did much for the mess there. Breathing slowly, he watched the sun make its final descent behind the horizon until there was nothing to see by but the light of a crescent moon. The glow reminded him of home, if he could call it that. _

_ He decided he wanted to stay here in this shack. What was the point now in going back to the Garrison? The only reason he’d stayed so long was because of Shiro. Now he was free to do what he originally came here to do, no restrictions. He would go back long enough to get his things, only the things he needed to search for the blue lion (and maybe his red jacket because stupidly it reminded him of Shiro, and he couldn’t quite let go completely).  _

_ With his mind set and his brain effectively turned off, Keith slumped back onto the couch and fell into a fitful sleep. _

=================================

Keith is in a desperate state of panic the entire rest of the battle and way back to the castle. With the weapon down and the lions working again, they are eventually able to form Voltron, and after that the battle is easily won. He can’t help but hope that Jirovok escaped as he watches the explosions along his ship’s length. 

When he’s landed back in Red’s hangar, Keith doesn’t move from his pilot’s seat right away. Instead he takes a moment to try and control his breathing. He’d forgotten about Pidge watching over the cameras with the rest of the paladins until they were headed back, and now he’s more afraid than he’s ever been of his family. Did they leave before he changed? Do they know what he really is?

Most of all he’s terrified to confront Shiro.

“Everyone meet up in the lounge room,” Shiro says over the comm, and Keith nearly jumps at the voice in his ear. “I want to debrief.”

Keith’s chest clenches and then releases into rapid beating, nearly bruising his ribs. Sucking in another large breath, he finally stands up from his seat and makes his way out of the lion. He walks slowly to the lounge, trying to push off the meeting as long as possible, though it won’t make a difference in the end.

Everyone is already in the lounge when he gets there, including Allura, Coran, Kolivan, and the rebel commander, Plyz. Keith briefly thinks about making a run for it but hesitantly enters and sits on one of the couches, separate from the rest.

“It was a trap,” Kolivan says immediately, voice gravelly with his displeasure. “Now The Marmora may have been exposed to the Empire.”

“They may simply think you were part of the rebellion,” Allura says. “They didn’t see you directly.”

“It doesn’t matter. Having Voltron involved in a covert mission is too much of a risk,” he counters.

The room explodes at that, and Keith tries to ignore it. He thinks for a moment he feels eyes on him, but when he gets the nerve to glance at Shiro, the leader is already doing his best to calm the noise.

The entire time the debrief takes place, Keith remains tense, waiting for someone to say something. Instead they seem content to argue amongst themselves for who is at fault. He hates that he feels relieved. 

Eventually, Allura seems to get fed up and leaves the room with promises of further discussions later, Coran following close on her heels. Plyz takes this as permission for herself to leave as well and does so without much preamble. Kolivan takes one look at Keith and then exits. 

The room grows unbearably quiet. Keith stays staring at the floor, at the hands he has clasped between his knees. He can hear the others shuffling around in their seats though none of them make any moves to stand. 

“Keith,” Shiro says sounding tired. Keith winces. “I -- We need some kind of explanation.”

Keith closes his eyes. It looks like the others had seen, probably heard his conversation with Jirovok, too.

“He called you a traitor,” Pidge says quietly. 

“‘You were meant to bring Voltron to Zarkon’?” Lance says.

“Dude, you turned full Galra,” Hunk blurts.

“I -- I’ve always known I was Galra,” Keith whispers. There’s no turning back now. The only option he has is to tell them everything, explain why he’s here with them now. 

“How?” Shiro asks.

“I was born on a Galra ship.” There’s a sharp inhale from somewhere next to him but he keeps going. “My mother was Galran. I don’t remember her. She died right after I was born. I assumed she did at least. All I had of hers was the blade she’d left for me. 

“I was raised as a soldier in Zarkon’s army. I was a half-breed, which was rare, but for some reason Zarkon kept me. He didn’t show any particular interest in me, but he kept tabs. When I was young, it was discovered that I could willfully change between a Galran appearance and a human one. Zarkon had the idea of using this as a way to search Earth for one of the lions. There had been a scouting mission out near Earth that only one soldier returned from -- my mother. He thought maybe something could be there, and she covered it up. 

“I went to the Garrison because it was near the readings I was receiving and I thought they might have information. I -- I didn’t expect to …” Keith stumbles to a stop and clears his throat. “I met Shiro there, and things felt different. I’d never really agreed with Zarkon or his ideals, but I’d been too afraid to rebel. But humans … humans were just so incredible.

“The culture, the people, the emotions were all just so overwhelming, and I started to lose sight of why I was sent there. Shiro became my best friend, my first real friend, but then when he … when they thought he died, I lost my way again. I thought maybe being an emotionless Galran soldier would be better than dealing with the … loss. So I went back to searching for the blue lion.”

“So you only knew about Blue because of Zarkon?” Lance says. Keith can’t figure out just what that tone is but he doubts it’s a welcoming one.

“I could still feel her,” he protests. “Zarkon didn’t know that. I never said anything to the Galra. I sent regular reports on my search but nothing substantial ever happened, so I think they started to see it as a lost cause. I didn’t really care either way. I just wanted to be left alone in the desert.

“But then Shiro came back. And you guys came along.” Keith looks up at them now. He can feel his eyes burning, but he chokes it back. He can’t let them think he’s trying to guilt them into accepting him when he knows everything he’s done up until now has been wrong. “Then we found Blue and Allura and Voltron and I got to forget about being Galra for a while.

“I stopped making contact with the Galra after that, let them think I died. I knew I couldn’t go back. I -- I love humans. I love this universe. I love flying with you guys and having these bonds and living freely. Zarkon only wants to destroy all those things. I couldn’t let him.”

“What about your mother? You knew she was part of the Blade?” Shiro says.

“No. I had no idea the Blade existed,” Keith says. “When we found Ulaz and I saw that symbol, I thought maybe she was part of them. That’s why I wanted so badly to learn more about them and my history. All I knew was that I was a Galra half-breed with no parents, stuck in Zarkon’s army. But maybe my mother wasn’t loyal to him. Maybe she’d been just as stuck as I was.”

“And who was that Galra soldier on the ship?” Hunk asks.

“He -- his name is Jirovok,” Keith sighs. “We grew up together in Zarkon’s army. He felt the same as I did about Zarkon’s ways. That’s why I thought he might let us go. He doesn’t want to be there just as much as I didn’t.”

“And Keito?”

Keith sighs. “It was my name while with the Galra. I chose Keith on Earth because they were so similar.”

They seem to have run out of questions as they fall silent after that. Keith has directed his stare back to the floor, unwilling to confront their rejection. He clenches his fists in his lap hard enough to turn his knuckles a pale white. He can’t imagine the betrayal he just presented them with.

“I think we need to tell Allura,” Shiro says after a moment.

Keith almost goes to argue but stops. He has no right to decide anything now. Instead, he nods minutely and waits for everyone to stand before he does so himself. As soon as he does, small arms wrap around his middle abruptly enough to make him startle. Pidge looks up at him from where her face is pressed to his chest plate.

“Galra or not, you’re still Keith,” she says. “It’s the same as before. You’re still a paladin of Voltron. Red never would have accepted you if she didn’t think you were worth it.”

Keith swallows thickly, placing a hand on one of her shoulders. He attempts a smile though it’s a wobbly grimace as best, but it seems to do the trick. Pidge lets go, sending him a smile of her own and nodding resolutely as if to say, “That’s that. There is nothing else to discuss.” Keith only grows more thankful for the family he’s created here.

When he finally looks up at the rest of them they’re all smiling, too. They look hesitant and tired, but Keith can’t detect even an ounce of derision. He feels like his heart might explode.

“Let’s go,” Shiro says softly, and they file out of the room.

Kolivan is standing leaning against the wall when they exit, and he meets Keith’s gaze head-on. Keith already knows Kolivan has heard everything, that he knows the truth. He stops and gestures to Shiro that he will catch up in a moment. He and Kolivan simply stare at each other for a long moment before Kolivan breaks the silence.

“Your mother was a Blade almost unparalleled in her ability for working undercover,” he says. Keith’s eyes shoot open wide, and he gapes in his surprise. “She had herself assigned to as many scouting missions as possible along with a few other undercover Blades. When they received readings for the blue lion on Earth, she took out the rest of her unit and crashed there on the surface. Your father found her.”

“You know my father?” Keith interrupts. 

“No. He never left Earth. You’re mother stayed on Earth to protect the guise that she and her unit had been killed in action and to protect the blue lion. There, she fell in love with your father and became pregnant with you. It was only when the Galra Empire threatened to attack Earth that she decided to leave. She had you when she was back in their ranks.”

“How could you let her do that?” Keith says angrily. 

Kolivan frowns, but Keith is too wound up to care about his disapproval. “We thought it best to let her rejoin their ranks to preserve the secret of the Blade of Marmora. She agreed.”

“So that’s it then?” Keith murmurs. “She really was part of the Blade. And she -- she saved Voltron.”

“Your mother was one of our best. We lost contact with her soon after you were born. I always assumed that she was found out and Zarkon killed her. We thought he indoctrinated you into the army as petty revenge,” Kolivan says. Keith is amazed to hear the small sense of loss and anger in Kolivan’s words. “We never confirmed her death.”

Keith’s face twitches and then falls blank. All his life he’d wondered about his parents. He never knew who is father was, if he was even alive, if he even knew Keith existed. And he’d always wondered if maybe his mother was still alive. Zarkon could tell him anything he wanted if he thought it would convince Keith to fight for him. 

“I only tell you this because there have been rumors,” Kolivan says, “of a Galra amongst the rebel alliance. We do not know for sure if it is true or who it may be but … the similarities are uncanny.” 

Keith feels hope flare up inside him. It’s a disquieting feeling, something he hasn’t experienced many times in his life. He thinks he may like it though. 

“Thank you,” he intones with as much gratitude as he can muster. 

Kolivan nods. “Don’t keep the Princess waiting.”

The anxiety of telling Allura isn’t quite enough to squash his happiness in the moment but he does as Kolivan says. 

Shiro has him tell Allura and Coran everything from his own mouth. Not once does she interrupt as he tells his story, though he can see her face grow more and more pinched as he goes. His anxiety builds higher along with it. In the end, she remains silent for minutes, long enough to make Keith and the other paladins squirm. Lance, Pidge, and Hunk make an effort to explain their sides on the matter, to explain that they still view Keith as a friend and a paladin of Voltron. Keith thinks that if Allura doesn’t accept him, maybe having them on his side would still be enough. 

He doesn’t miss that Shiro makes no such effort, but he thinks he understands why when Allura finally meets his gaze.

“I need time to think on this,” she says quietly and then sweeps from the room, her dress ruffling behind her quick steps. Coran follows her out with a grimace.

Keith doesn’t waste much time leaving as well and the others don’t try to stop him, though Shiro trails behind him all the way back to Keith’s quarters. Once inside, Keith starts to peel off his armor, laying the pieces gently on his bed until he’s clothed only in the black undersuit. He sits on the bed, and Shiro joins him after a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Keith whispers.

Shiro’s hand comes to his shoulder and squeezes. It’s enough to send Keith’s eyes burning again, and this time he does nothing to stop the few tears that slip free. Cold fingers brush his cheek to wipe them away. Keith reaches up to keep Shiro’s prosthetic hand there before he can pull it away. 

“I should have told you sooner,” he continues. “I was just so scared.”

“I know,” Shiro says. “I don’t blame you. And -- and all that matters now is that you’re here.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I really fit in here. Or with the Marmora. Or anywhere,” Keith says miserably.

Shiro pushes at his cheek until Keith’s facing him. He simply stares and not for the first time Keith is mesmerized by the cool silver of Shiro’s eyes. He’s so distracted that he doesn’t process it right away when Shiro’s lips meet his.

It’s a soft pressure, light enough that Keith could be imagining it if it weren’t for Shiro’s blurry outline so close to him. He only manages to kiss back as Shiro’s pulling away, and Shiro chuckles, meeting him again for another quick press of lips.

“You belong here with the Paladins. And you belong with the Blade of Marmora,” he says once they’ve made eye contact again. “You belong wherever you want to be, Keith.”

“You kissed me,” Keith murmurs.

Shiro smiles at him soft and with what Keith now knows is unhindered affection. He’s starting to realize that Shiro has been looking at him that way for a long time. He’d simply been blind with insecurity. Keith has never been so happy to be wrong.

“Stay with me?” he says.

Shiro nods and they sink into his bed with limbs tangled. Shiro still has his paladin armor on and the hard material digs into Keith’s cheek when he presses his face to the chest plate, but he’s too exhausted to even think of moving. He snuggles closer despite the discomfort. 

“We’ll figure everything out tomorrow,” Shiro says, his breath caressing Keith’s forehead as he speaks.

Keith doesn’t answer as he’s already falling asleep.

=================================

_ The sky was still dark when they woke. Keith wasn’t sure what woke him until he heard the distant howl of a coyote and the answering noise from its pack. Shiro grumbled from the other side of the pull out bed as Keith sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was too early to be awake but this was better. They should head back to the Garrison before anyone realized they hadn’t spent the night in their dorms.  _

_ Shiro had packed instant coffee the day before, so they spent the time to heat up a pot of water on the hotplate they’d added to the kitchen of their little shack a few weeks back. Once armed with their cups of coffee, they headed to the porch to sit and enjoy the last few moments of cool air before the sun came up. _

_ The sky was still clear but the stars were starting to dim as a faint glow began to spread across the horizon. Keith enjoyed the sight nonetheless. He stared up at the endless expanse of dark blue and speckled white sipping his coffee slowly. Shiro nudged him after a few minutes of quiet. _

_ “In two months I’ll be up there,” he said with uncontained glee. “And in a few years we’ll go up together.” _

_ “You sound so sure of that,” Keith said. He meant it teasingly but Shiro turned to him with a serious expression. _

_ “I am sure,” he said. “One day, you and I will discover the universe together. We’ll make history across the stars.” _

_ Keith smiled at his indulgent words and let himself think for a moment that that was possible, that he and Shiro would be seeing everything for the first time together, that half the universe hadn’t been ravaged by war and genocide and that he hadn’t been a part of it. Looking at Shiro as he grinned up at the sky, Keith believed for a moment it was true. _

_ Keith had been born Galra, raised Galra, knew nothing but the stars and the spaces in between them. Here with Shiro, he felt like he was born of Earth.  _

_ He reached out with a steady hand and touched Shiro’s fingers where they were splayed across the wood of the porch. When Shiro looked at him, Keith smiled. Shiro took it for the confirmation it was and smiled back. The sun was starting to peak over the desert, washing everything in a yellow haze, turning the sky into a rainbow of color, and while the sight was undoubtedly beautiful, Keith couldn’t look away from Shiro because Shiro’s smile was brighter than any sun. _


End file.
